Projector for use on a playing surface



June 28, 1966 w, MOREY 3,258,267

PROJECTOR FOR USE ON A PLAYING SURFACE Filed Nov. 20, 1964 FIG. 6.

FIG.7.

INVENTOR WILLIS R. MOREY FIG. a

United. States Patent 3,258,267 PROJECTOR FOR USE ON A PLAYING SURFACEWillis R. Morey, Arlington, Va., assignor to Mar-Bowl Games, Inc.,Washington, D.C. Filed Nov. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 412,804 2 Claims. (Cl.273-129) The present invention comprises game player pieces and acompact package for holding and displaying the same, and includes asupporting base which holds selected player pieces, used in playing avariety of conventional games, and susceptible of use individually andcollectively.

An object of the invention is to provide player pieces adapted for usecollectively for playing games following rules furnished with the gamepackage, certain of the game pieces being individually usable foramusement purposes.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the game pieces arepackaged in so-called transparent blister-packages. With most gamesplayed with these game pieces, a projector is used by a player, which isof special construction to, inter alia, automatically retain aprojectile, such as a conventional marble, in predetermined proximity toa movable part of the projector controlled by the player and released byhim to impel the projectile against a target, at the option of theplayer. i

It is also within the contemplation of this invention to provide a cardwhich carries the player pieces, for display purposes, with'families ofplayer pieces, such as marbles,

. simulated duckpins used in playing a variety of games,

blister-packaged on the board surface and secured from displacementuntil removed for use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a projector which includesa self-leveling bed for the plunger of the projector to insure axialcontrol of the plunger as it passes through the projector body inshooting a projectile against the selected target.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the followingdescription of the present preferred form of the invention, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a base upon which player pieces are mountedand secured, parts thereof being broken away to disclose details;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a projector constructed inaccordance with this invention, with a player piece or projectile shownthereon in dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the projector taken on the line3-3 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a duckpin or tenpin rack usedin setting up the duckpins or tenpins which automatically positions thepins in proper position for playing;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the same, taken along the line 55 of FIG.4 showing to advantage, the aft end of the rack with supporting legs andapertures in which the pins are placed to automatically, accuratelyposition the pins on the playing surface;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a ball rack used for accuratelypositioning pool balls on the playing surface, the rack being removed,as in a conventional pool game, where a cue ball is shot thereagainst;and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a duckpin or tenpin which maybe made ofstyrene. or other suitable material.

In the present invention, a supporting base 10, made of cardboard orother suitable inexpensive material is used, upon which families ofplayer pieces and appurtenances used therewith are blister-packaged inappropriate position for display purposes. A family of player pieces mayconsist of marbles 11, of different sizes if desired, which arecompactly secured to the base 10 as indicated at 12.

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The package is secured to the base and is transparent so that the playerpieces can be seen therethrough in a fashion well known in the art.Another family of player pieces may be duckpins or tenpins 13 made ofstyrene or other suitable infrangible material, which are compactlymounted in a package 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Just as in the case ofpackaging the marbles, the duckpins or tenpins may be seen through thetransparent blister package in which they are mounted and secured to thesame surface of the support. It is of course to be understood thatadditional families of player pieces may be secured to the base for usein the playing of games of various miscellany.

For use in playing the games, it is also within the scope of thisinvention to utilize pin rack 15 and ball rack 16. When the racks areblister-packaged to the same surface of the support 10 as the gamefamilies, the rack 16 is superimposed upon the rack 15, both of whichmay be viewed through the transparent package 17 in which they aremounted. Both racks are made of styrene or like suitable material.

The base 10 has secured on the same surface as the families of gamepieces and the racks, a projector 18 shown in FIG. 1. Detailed views ofthe projector are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The projector is adapted foruse in playing games employing marbles and games employing duckpins ortenpins. The projector is preferably made of styrene and has an overalloblong configuration, one end of the body of which is depressed andslanted to provide a runway 19 adapted for the reception of a marble 11or other projectile. Aft of the runway 19 is a supporting frame 20 for aplunger 21 which forms the impelling part of the projector. One end ofthe plunger is enlarged to provide a head 22, the outer face of which isconcave, as indicated at 23, to provide a recess conformingsubstantially to the configuration of a marble or other roundedprojectile which may be used in playing the game. The plunger isspringloaded by employment of a helical spring 24 which is convoluted onthe outer end of the plunger between the head 22 and the front wall ofthe fnarne 20. When the plunger 21 is retracted in the frame, the springis compressed. Upon release of pressure from the handle end of theplunger, the expansive action of the spring projects the plunger headagainst a marble or the like, which has gravitated thereagainst in therunway 19, as illustrated to advantage in FIG. 2. In order to limit theforward movement of the plunger in the frame 20, an abutment 25 isformed on the plunger, as also illustrated to advantage in FIG. 2. Theend of the plunger opposite to that upon which the head 22 is formed isreduced and the terminal provided with a finger-engaging enlargement 26.The frame 20 includes a rib 27 which issues upwardly from a horizontalportion 28 of the frame, midway between the sides of the latter. The topof the rib 27 is uniplanar with the bottom walls of the openings in thefront and back walls of the frame, through which openings the plunger 21passes when being retracted or released. By this arrangement, part ofthe plunger which passes through the frame 20 is held in a truehorizontal plane to insure accurate projection of a marble 11 or thelike in the direction of the target selected by the player.

The number of openings, designated 29 will correspond to the number ofpins employed in playing a game of duckpins or tenpins. The diameter ofeach opening is slightly in excess of the diameter of the largest partof the body of the pin. Supporting legs 30 extend downwardly from thebottom face of the rack 15 to support the rack at the desired elevationand to provide ample clearance between the bottom of the rack and thesurface upon which it is mounted, through which access is gained to liftthe rack in a vertical position to a point where it clears the tops ofthe pins. 1

All games may be played by shooting the marbles with projector or byhand shooting. Distances from the shooter line to the target may bevaried according to the players age. In bowling, for example, the pinsshould be placed 18 to 30 inches from the designated shooter line, bookedges and a wall may be used as backstop for games played either on atable or on the floor.

In playing a game of duckpins or tenpins, the rack 15 is positioned on aplaying surface and the pins then placed in the openings 29. After this,the rack is elevate-d to a point above the pins, leaving the pins in theposition they would be in playing a conventional game of d-uckpins ortenpins. The projector 18 is then placed at a predetermined distancefrom the head pin and the player manipulates the projector on theplaying surface until he has the projector in desired position for theselected area which he uses as a target, on the grouped pins. Of course,the projector must be completely behind a starting line, but may bemoved laterally behind the line to permit positioning of the projectorfor impelling the marble against the selected target which may be one ormore pins which remain standing after the initial shot has been made.

In shooting a game simulating pool, the balls or marbles are placed inrack 16 in the center of a circle approximately twelve inches indiameter, which may be drawn on carpet or on other cloth material andplaced flat on a table surface. The players take one turn each, breakingup the marble formation and knocking marbles out of the circle. Thewinner is the player shooting the most marbles out of the circle.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made in thisinvention within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l

1. A projector including a one-piece body, a plunger slidably mounted inthe body, a base member integral wth said body of the projector andhaving a portion projecting beyond the forward end of said body, saidportion having an inclined surface immediately before the forward end ofsaid plunger inclined downwardly in the direction of said forward endrelative to the longitudinal axis of the base whereby a projectileresting on said base will be gravity biased against the forward end ofsaid plunger.

2. The projector of claim 1 wherein the plunger is spring-loaded, and arib issues upwardly from the base, below an intermediate part of theplunger for stabilizing the latter while moving forward toward theprojector by the expansive action of the spring.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,214,122 11/1917Beamisderfer 273-129 1,549,571 8/1925 Bowser 124-21 1,556,846 10/1925Kovacs 12426 2,109,639 3/1938 I-Irawley 273-129 3,050,308 8/1962 Rideout273l29 X 3,151,741 10/1964 Haecker 20678 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, PrimaryExaminer.

LOUIS J. BOVASSO, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PROJECTOR INCLUDING A ONE-PIECE BODY, A PLUNGER SLIDABLY MOUNTED INTHE BODY, A BASE MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY OF THE PROJECTOR ANDHAVING A PORTION PROJECTING BEYOND THE FORWARD END OF SAID BODY, SAIDPORTION HAVING AN INCLINED SURFACE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE FORWARD END OFSAID PLUNGER INCLINED DOWNWARDLY IN